GUN VIOLENCE: NEXT STEPS IN THE CONVERSATION, A COMMUNITY FORUM

On Valentine’s Day 5,500 people rallied on the north steps of the state Capitol building in Hartford to demand safer, common sense gun laws. This “March for Change” was a march not only to change gun laws in the wake of the Sandy Hook massacre – but equally important – it was a march to change the conversation and the culture.

We must keep the conversation going. Our state legislators and our legislators in Washington must hear from us over and over again. The momentum that’s been gathering since Sandy Hook must continue to build.

What can you do to help?

The Greenwich Council on Gun Violence and the Interfaith Council of Southwestern Connecticut are co-sponsoring a community forum on the next steps in the conversation. The forum will take place next Tuesday, February 26, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the First Presbyterian Church of Greenwich, 81 Lafayette Place. No reservations are necessary.

The program will feature the film “Living for 32″ about the Virginia Tech massacre. There will also be a speaker from “Connecticut Against Gun Violence.” A question and answer period will follow.

State Senator Scott Frantz is expected to attend and answer questions.

The Greenwich Council on Gun Violence began as a community meeting in the living room of Greenwich resident Liz Perry a few weeks after the Sandy Hook massacre.

“I just felt that as a mom and as a teacher, I had to do something,” said Perry, co-ordinator of the Greenwich Council on Gun Violence, who is married to the Reverend Maxwell Grant of Greenwich’s Second Congregational Church. Reverend Grant was a participant in the “March for Change.”

Those attending the initial meeting in Perry’s living room decided to give themselves a name and create a Face Book page. “We realized that the NRA was very well organized, but we wanted to make our voices heard and not be shouted down,” said Perry.

On January 26, the group held a rally outside the old post office on Greenwich Avenue that got positive media coverage and drew in more members and volunteers, according to Perry.

The group coordinates with Connecticut Against Gun Violence, but is trying also to keep a local face and voice with regard to the issues of gun violence.

“We are trying to build on the positive momentum of the ‘March for Change, and talk about what comes next,” said Perry.

Attend this meeting of the Greenwich Council on Gun Violence on February 26 and find out how you can help in this effort to change the conversation, the culture and the law.

One thing you can do is to contact your state legislators.

Connecticut Against Gun Violence followed up with “March for Change” participants this week and asked them to send this message to state legislators serving on the Bipartisan Task Force on Gun Violence Prevention and Children’s Safety:

The Nation is watching Connecticut and Connecticut is watching the Task Force. You must pass the best gun violence prevention laws in the Nation, which means at the very least:

A ban on assault weapons and large capacity magazines, including those currently in the state

Registration of handguns with annual renewal

Requirement of a permit to buy any gun or ammunition

Improvement of safe storage standards

Limitation of handgun purchases to one per month.

As Veronique Pozner said at the rally, “How could anyone think that my son’s life or any of those whose lives were stolen that day were so disposable that it is acceptable to do nothing?”

We will not settle for small gestures: a bill that only deals with background checks and safe storage is NOT ENOUGH. The NRA leadership wants you to wait until “the Connecticut effect” wears off, and then return to the status quo. As the leaders of the General Assembly in Connecticut, and as the Task Force on Gun Violence Prevention — which is meeting only 40 miles from Newtown — it is not acceptable to ask us to wait. NOW IS THE TIME.

We urge the CT General Assembly to vote AS PROMISED to the people of Connecticut and we urge that you propose a vote on the full agenda above of safe and sane gun violence prevention legislation.